Miranda: Out of the closet

If you’ve read this blog recently, you’re familiar with WishStudio’s 5-week online playgroup. (Studio Mothers had a giveaway for one spot, which went to Robin Norgren.) The playgroup started this past Monday, with Shona Cole as the instructor for the first week. My 5-year-old and I went shopping for a few supplies we needed and eagerly watched all of Shona’s instructional videos.

The first step was for me to gesso our project paper. But I decided that before I got to the gesso, I would transform our playroom into an art room. The playroom was disorganized and full of outgrown toys and loose game pieces — time for a total overhaul.

At the same time, my art closet was no longer the tidy, organized collection of art supplies that it was a year ago. I often found it too difficult to put things where they belonged and ultimately resorted to opening the door, tossing in whatever belonged in the closet, and quickly closing the door again before the object could fall out. Many of my key supplies were too difficult to get out (note the large plastic bin on the top shelf). In all, the closet turned out to be less than ideal for art supplies. Good for storing, perhaps, but not so good for using.

So, all of the toys came out of the playroom. Many of them went up into the attic for donation/yard sale; some of them went into the boys’ bedrooms. Then all of the art supplies in my art closet went into the playroom, now dubbed the art room. Board games went into the old art closet. I positioned an old table in front of a window in order to make use of natural light, as this room tends to be a little dark.

Here’s the old playroom, just as I started taking it apart (note that my camera tends to distort reality — it makes this room look larger than it actually is):

And here’s the new art room, after three days of hauling, sorting, and labeling. It’s all here, even though it looks like a mishmash:

My two little guys immediately helped themselves to art supplies and inaugurated the art table with fresh splotches of acrylic paint. And you can see that our dear Mimi made herself quite comfy on the table too.

This new room supports my new schedule, which is phasing in over the next few weeks. I’ll blog about that more as soon as I can swing it. I think I may have figured out how to work AND be a stay-at-home mom. As in, the best of both worlds. Stay tuned!

Now, I’d better get that paper gessoed so we can finish the first week’s art project before it’s time for the second one!